The following statement was released today in response to the issuance of an Executive Order by President Donald J. Trump that clears the way for the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines:

"On January 24, President Donald J. Trump gave continued hope to thousands of skilled craft construction professionals in America's heartland for whom the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipeline projects have been an economic lifeline.

"We are grateful that President Trump understands that 32% of today’s construction industry workforce is employed on energy projects, amounting to over 2 million workers, and that projects such as the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines are significant job creators that generate above-average wages and benefits for hard-working Americans.

“NABTU is encouraged that one of President Trump’s first official actions will put tens of thousands of Americans to work and unleash billions and billions of dollars of earned wages into our economy, contributing to a significant boost in our nation’s GDP. It should be noted these jobs will be created without a single dollar of government assistance for project finance, and because they are being constructed under the guidance of a collective bargaining agreement, they also have structures in place for apprenticeship training opportunities for historically neglected communities.

“In politics, there are people of words, and people of deeds. North America’s Building Trades Unions are grateful that President Trump is a man who puts action behind his words.”

North America's Building Trades Unions is an alliance of 14 national and international unions in the building and construction industry that collectively represent over 3 million skilled craft professionals in the United States and Canada. Each year, our unions and our signatory contractor partners invest over $1 billion in private sector money to fund and operate over 1,900 apprenticeship training and education facilities across North America that produce the safest, most highly trained and productive skilled craft workers found anywhere in the world.